A Maker’s Journey through Furniture, Music, & Materials
Words Codi Chen Photos Ashley Haguewood
Brian Shimansky, founder of Shimansky Design, has always been drawn to the moment when raw material starts to become something more.
Throughout school, woodworking was where Brian spent every extra hour he could. “All my free time went into the wood shop,” he explains. “There was something about taking a rough piece of material and slowly bringing it into form that felt grounding.” Even when he stepped away from the craft later, that connection never disappeared.
After earning a business degree, Brian was unexpectedly scouted into the fashion industry in 2008. Modeling took him around the world, placing him inside carefully designed spaces, sets, and interiors. “I started noticing the furniture, the architecture, the energy of the spaces,” he says. “That’s when I realized how much I missed working with my hands.”
By 2014, he was back in the shop, building shelving and small projects and sharing them online. Friends began commissioning pieces, and a coffee table was the first piece he sold.
Early on, a search for live-edge lumber led him to Mike Rupich of Endgrain Design, who paused his own work to demonstrate how to repair cracked slabs. “That generosity stayed with me,” Brian remembers. “So much of what I know comes from people taking the time to share.”
When he moved to Austin in 2017, that same openness led him to ToolMarks ATX, where he began working with locally-harvested wood salvaged from reclaimed structures and trees. “I love knowing where the material comes from,” he explains. “There’s already a story there before I ever touch it.”
That mindset extends into his guitar pieces, which grew organically from the relationships he forged. What began as a simple refinish evolved into crafting electric guitar bodies and collaborating with Austin musicians and luthiers. “I love the crossover,” Brian smiles. “Different materials, different ideas, different people…it keeps everything exciting.”
Before designing any piece, Brian spends time applying Feng Shui principles to understand movement, proportion, and flow. “I imagine how people will walk around it, touch it, live with it,” he states. “The piece has to be sturdy and really belong in the space.”
At its core, Shimansky Design is about connection to materials, to people, and to the process. “I still get excited walking into the [wood] shop,” Brian confesses. “There’s always that moment when the piece tells you what it wants to be, and it keeps me coming back for more.”
Contact:
3508 E Cesar Chavez St.
shimanskydesign.com
@shimanskydesign
